Skip to main content

Used 2018 Nissan Maxima Consumer Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
87 reviews

See Edmunds pricing data

Has Your Car's Value Changed?

Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.

Price history graph example
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2018 Maxima, so we've included reviews for other years of the Maxima since its last redesign.

Trending topics in reviews

Pros
Cons
5 out of 5 stars

Fun car to drive but it's not a 4DSC!

T Field, 01/13/2018
updated 08/12/2020
2017 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SR 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Bought this car, the SR version, for my wife on Black Friday, Nissan dealer had some REALLY good incentives, and so far it's been a lot of fun to drive. I told her the SR model didn't ride as well as the other models but she didn't care she loved the color. I was happy because it comes with features she'll probably never use like the SPORT button, which changes the steering, throttle response, and it has Paddle Shifters, which surprisingly even though it has a CVT transmission, feels like it shifts gears slightly and has 7 speeds. Overall the car rides pretty well. On choppy roads however it's no Lincoln. I haven't pushed the car that hard but it handles very well for a FWD car. As other magazines have said, if it was RWD or AWD it would be more sporty. As far as acceleration this car is pretty darn quick. We have about 2000 miles on the car and I'm averaging 28.9 MPG. It records best mileage and on one trip I got 35.2 MPG! Very surprised, however I've already replaced the air filter with a K&N OE replacement type which I'm sure helped mileage. My son, for Christmas, bought me a set of LED driving lights to replace the Halogen fog lights in the front. Looks very cool and because we live in Southern Arizona we never get fog anyway. The interior is probably the best feature in this car. The SR version comes with better seats, which are heated and cooled, half leather and half a type of cloth, which in Arizona is welcome for me, an upgraded Bose stereo which sounds real good. Never was a Bose fan but this car changed that. About the only feature you can't get on the SR is a sunroof which I don't care for anyway. I think we'll get many happy miles driving this car. By the way I'm above retirement age but still love to Drive a car! Update on 1/15/2019. Still a fun car to drive. Wife achieved a best of 36 MPG on a recent trip. Only thing I don’t like about this car is the rear seat belts. Not sure if it’s the angle or what exactly is the issue but they are extremely hard to engage into the latch. Have not had any large framed people in the back only small and a child booster seat. Takes forever to latch and I’ve had to help the person trying to latch it. Kinda embarrassing really, especially if it’s a woman or your Aunt. Other than that the car has been flawless even though we don’t have that many miles on it, (Wife doesn’t let me drive it very often). Hoping to take a fairly long trip this spring with it and will update after that. Update on July 29, 2019. Just completed a trip to Wichita, Kansas through Albuquerque, NM and back here to Tucson. Around 2200 miles total and averaged around 34 miles per gallon. I'll admit I did exceed the speed limit a few times but I also had a tail wind on part of the trip, but on average still gets great gas mileage. The air conditioned seats were a pleasure to have as this was when they were having over 100 degrees temperatures there at that time. I'll give them an A+. The Navigation System worked very well with the exception of mapping in some of the smaller towns in Kansas. Some were not stored in the data card. We just received a notice of an upgrade/update for the Nav system from Nissan but I believe it costs around $100. Will ask around and see if it's worth it since we don't travel a lot. Would I recommend a Maxima, You Bet. But personally I'm not a fan of the new front end treatment of the 2019 Maxima. It seems they've softened it. I think the 16-18 Maxima has a better more aggressive looking front end. Updated 1/2020 Haven’t put a lot of miles on since last summer. Car continues to impress. The newer CVT transmissions are a huge improvement over earlier versions. When driving in normal mode the tranny just smoothly transitions throughout acceleration. When placed in Sport Mode, without using manual shift/paddle shifters, the car accelerates hard and actually “feels” as if it’s shifting and the tachometer actually drops about 500 RPM between shifts. Not sure why people complain about this transmission. Only thing I have noticed with is when shifting from reverse to drive there’s about a 1 second hesitation as it transfers. If you are like some people I know and slam it into gear and press the accelerator pedal fairly hard I’m sure this abrupt change is not very good on the transmission! Here in Arizona I’ve been using the Mid-grade of gasoline with good results. Every now and then I will fill with Premium but haven’t noticed a big improvement. Nothing really new to update. With the COVID and basically everything closed haven’t driven much. Coming up on 3 years of ownership and the car still drives and performs very well. No squeaks or rattles of any kind, even from driving on Tucson’s fabulous roads. Just oil and filters changes is all it’s needed.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
Report Abuse

5 out of 5 stars

Smiling Sun Day's

Ravi Rozier, 06/25/2018
2018 Nissan Maxima Platinum 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
29 of 35 people found this review helpful

Every day the sun shines and I walk out to my parked vehicle, I can't help but smile. I'm still in the honeymoon phase where I just adore the sight of my car right before I prepare myself to sit inside and drive to work. I must confess, I smile if it's a rainy day, foggy day, whatever day it is, I smile. Still, the way the sun shines off my 2018 Carnelian red Nissan Maxima Platinum edition is extraordinary. I know I picked the right color. I just purchased the car last month and I had to make a quick decision. I had a gut feeling that if I didn't get off my couch that Sunday afternoon, I would have missed out on the exact color I wanted. I've recently checked and there are only 3 red Platinum editions within 100 miles of here. I bought the car at a dealer 2 miles away from my house so I'm still happy about that. As far as getting in the car, I've read that the Platinum is like a entry level luxury car. That's good enough for me and this car is an upgrade over my 2011 Maxima. The seats are pretty nice. The computer is awesome and it integrates with my Samsung Galaxy with Android Auto. I love it because my old Maxima didn't have the capability to stream music. I'm still geeked up by the fact I can stream all of the latest albums without any issues. There are two USB ports right in the front, so now when I pick up a friend, they don't have to unplug my phone to charge their phone. We can both get to the restaurant with 100% battery power. Also, the obvious prize is no longer having to buy car chargers when the one your using inevitably stops working. Also, the all-around camera is pretty cool. I like it a lot, especially when I realized that most of the Maxima trims don't have it. It helps with parking and now I'm always in the lines in the supermarket parking lot. The other thing that I absolutely love about this Platinum are the LED headlights. In my last Maxima, I thought age was finally catching up to me. I couldn't see too good at night and frequently turned on the bright lights when I was alone on some local streets. The first night I drove the Platinum and those LED automatically came on, it was OMG! In fact, I'm not aging at an accelerated rate, it's just the headlights on my old SV were absolutely horrible. Well, they did work so maybe I'm going a little too hard with the criticism, but the difference is astounding. I love those LED lights and every car I purchase in the future will have to have them. Like I said, I'm still in the honeymoon phase and the car is still pristine. Only had it for a month. Maybe in 6 months I'll be so-so about the car. But as of now, every time I go outside and get ready to go work, I smile as bright as any sun can shine it's glorious rays on my 2018 Carnelian red Maxima Platinum edition.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
Report Abuse
2018 Nissan Maxima for sale near you
3 of 21 listings
See all 21 listings

4 out of 5 stars

One year into a lease

John V, 05/29/2018
2017 Nissan Maxima Platinum 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Very pleased with the Maxima after one year into my three year lease. The car is really fun to drive, great acceleration and handling. Comfortable seats, especially the driver seat, the passenger seat has limited adjustments which is a bit disappointing for a top of the line model. I admit the car is a little low as far as getting in and out (it does have a sports car feel that way), but hey, I'm 65 years old, so that might have something to do with it! I would highly recommend checking out the Maxima. I hadn't considered the Nissan brand which searching a year ago until a friend suggested I do so, and I was was signing a lease within a couple of days later. Great looking car, beautiful interior, comfort, good mileage, fun to drive.....that's about what you're looking for right?

Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Report Abuse

3 out of 5 stars

Crack Crack Crack!!!

JEO, 06/03/2018
2017 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 04/17 (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

I don't recall if the car had a "cracking" noice when breaking to go in reverse or breaking as i go over speed bumps. The car had an "engine support".. replaced. The cracking sound went away for a few days, but it returned again. I have 20,000 miles in the car now. I just hope it doesn't run out of warranty before I am satisfy with the repairs needed.

Safety
3 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
3 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
Report Abuse

5 out of 5 stars

Maxima platinum

Rhonda Massa, 08/18/2017
2017 Nissan Maxima Platinum 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

I looked for a sporty car that wouldn't break the bank for about 6 months. I finally found the maxima platinum and I LOVE it!

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
Report Abuse
Items per page:
5